


a summer project

by Gal_tic



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Dan Howell and Phil Lester Are Married, Dan Howell and Phil Lester Are Parents, Dan Howell/Phil Lester Fluff, Dan just wants to be a good husband, Domestic Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Established Dan Howell/Phil Lester, M/M, Phil just loves him, parent!phan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 11:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15387402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gal_tic/pseuds/Gal_tic
Summary: Dan and Phil have moved into their very first house with their daughter, Emily. What happens when Dan decides to attempt a 'Build Your Own Deck' DIY kit to spice up their backyard?





	a summer project

**Author's Note:**

> She's back!
> 
> After meeting D&P at their Interactive Introverts tour (I know,) I needed a little break from the writing scene while I processed. However! I am back, and I will be posting far more.
> 
> There is one thing that I have decided that I will not be posting any more, as my view on writing it myself has changed. I will not be posting any more smut fics (the ones I have written in the past will be staying up, don't worry.)
> 
> I don't feel comfortable writing it any more out of respect to D&P. The domestic content and fluff fics will continue to come, however :) 
> 
> This small ficlet was written for Phandom Fic Fest's prompt 'Summer ___!' I hope that you enjoy. 
> 
> If you did, consider leaving a kudos/comment (constructive criticism is always welcome!)

When Dan had rolled over in bed Tuesday morning, and mumbled to him sleepily about getting one of those ‘Build your Own Deck’ DIY kits, it was easy to say that Phil was feeling cynical. 

Since moving into their new house and properly settling down for the first time in their relationship, they had immediately began making their home reflect _them_ for the first time. (After having rented for years with very little ability to personalize their home, it was a welcome change.)

After having Emily, their sleep schedules had rapidly changed, with them both taking naps throughout the day rather than sleeping fully through the night. (The half garbled, barely awake arguments they had been having every time the baby monitor made sound hadn’t been worth the very little sleep they were getting anyway.) Phil had found that they were both already so attuned to her noises that it wasn’t worth trying to sleep at night anyway, since any sound from her would wake them both up. 

Every night since making this change, they had worked on doing small DIY projects around their house to slowly make it theirs. From painting the kitchen at the crack of dawn to putting baby locks and assorted baby proofing devices around the house, they had tried to keep the projects _realistic_ for their skill set and leave the bigger tasks (flooring, new kitchen cabinets, _the backyard deck_ ) to the professionals. 

Well, until Dan had his _brilliant_ idea. 

After leaving the house to pick up the kit at the time that their local DIY store opened, Dan arrived home with a guilty smile and a kiss to his cheek to ease his worrying (Phil had tried very hard to stick to his ‘this is a terrible idea’ viewpoint, but Dan made it very hard sometimes.)

From that moment on, Dan had been outside, trying his best to assemble the small deck. Phil had been forced to shut the window after the air outside had practically been blue with swear words, and he didn’t particularly want Emily’s first word to be ‘fuck.’

Glancing outside the kitchen window as Emily tried to eat cheerios off of her highchair’s tiny plastic table, Phil could see that Dan had made very little progress over the last three hours. The base was there - yet the individual slats of the section that made up the top would not lay correctly. Turning away, Phil couldn’t help the amused smile that crossed his face. 

Two hours later, when Emily was down for her nap, Phil grabbed the baby monitor and a glass of lemonade before going out to the backyard. 

“Have you given up yet?” He mused, handing Dan his glass before pressing a kiss to Dan’s (very) sweaty cheek.

Plopping down on the grass with a long sigh, Dan huffed before answering “You win, Phil. I can’t do it. I just wanted to do something nice for you and Emily, you know? We could have put that little swing set for her out here.”

Smiling, Phil raised an eyebrow at this. “We know you tried. But I also know that you’re running on less than an hour of sleep and need to take a nap. Go now while she’s still asleep, and _I’ll_ call someone to come and assemble this, okay?”

Taking the last sip of his lemonade, Dan shook his head in defeat before standing up, fixing him with a pointed look. 

“If anyone asks after it’s done, I did it.”

Chuckling, Phil couldn’t help but love his partner, his best friend, more. 

“Never. You’ll get the Handyman Husband of the year award, I promise.”

Later that week, when Martyn and Cornelia came over to see the work done on their new home, Phil kept his mouth shut as Dan detailed his hours of work on the deck. 

_Some things, as always, were better kept between them._

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @Galactic_Howell  
> Tumblr: @galhowell


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